<Special Feature 1 "Islam as a Source of Contemporary Thought: New Advances and Outlooks">Halal Certifi cation as a Modern Application of Shariah Morality: An Analysis of Malaysian Halal Standard

Abstract

Halal certification and its standards are said to be based on Islamic law. In Malaysia, however, the Halal certification system was formally introduced as a section in the governmental administration of industries in the year of 2000. The author has found that halal standards are based on Islamic law and federal laws as well as modern administrative rules. The author also analyses the Halal Showcase or Halal Expo. These observations indicate that halal standards form an important part of the industrial policies of the Malaysian government. Furthermore, this paper argues that halal issues are related to the Shariah morality awareness of the Muslim population. The emergence of this Shariah morality after the Islamic revival from the 1970's onward should be considered as the background for the appearance of Halal industrial policies and the Halal standards in Malaysia. As seen in the actual regulations, Islamic law itself is not a monolithic body of rules, but a complex mass of different levels of legal interpretations. Through these analyses, this paper provides a new insight for our understanding of Halal certification.